Isle of Wight Festival 2012: Pearl Jam make long overdue impact

Could Pearl Jam be the most alternative headline act to play Isle of Wight festival in recent years? The answer is a resounding yes.

Rocking: Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam (Picture: Getty Images)

Pearl Jam are one of those staples of the US rock world who have always failed to command the same level of fame over here.

Sure, they’re not short of fans (they packed out London’s Hyde Park when they played it back in 2010), but they still sit on the fringes of the mainstream with very little radio play and headline slots usually confined to rock festivals. Not any more.Frontman Eddie Vedder is mesmerising to watch. His showmanship is up there with the likes of Michael Stipe and Sunday’s headliner, Bruce Springsteen .Vedder executed haunting anthem after anthem with such conviction as to send shivers down your spine. His unmistakable grainy vocal oozed depth and emotion, as if he was singing straight into your soul.Songs such as Better Man and Daughter have the same potency now as when they were first unveiled more than two decades ago (and we’ve all grown up a lot since then).Of course, Pearl Jam stalwart, Alive was totally on the money, a heartfelt anthem about Vedder’s estranged father. With this performance, Pearl Jam will have undoubtedly picked up a few hundred if not thousands more fans.Earlier on Saturday, former Starsailor frontman James Walsh kicked things off on the main stage, with a rousing set of atmospheric indie which was, unsurprisingly, laden with Starsailor songs, including Good Souls and Silence Is Easy.

A mass clap along ensued – proving a great livener with which to start the day. Walsh later played a secret gig in the Oxfam tent, an Aladdin’s Cave of Mumford and Sons lookalikes wearing worthy jumpers.Whilst the Isle of Wight organisers claimed to be heading away from the popular pop genre of recent years, Saturday proved a real treat for Radio One listeners, with the likes of Jessie J and Tinie Tempah storming the main stage – with Price Tag proving the undisputed highlight for the former and Pass Out for the latter.Madness offered a timeless dose of accessible ska for people of all ages, and nailed one of those ‘festival moments’ with It Must Be Love. As the sun went down (or hid behind the rain clouds), Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro warmed the crowd up for Pearl Jam showing Matt Cardle, who was almost definitely in the audience, how When We Collide is done best.